ATLANTA – Michael Vick finished a dismal chapter of his life as a convict and is expecting to pursue donning an NFL  jersey again.

Vick’s attorney Lawrence Woodward said outside Vick’s suburban Virginia home that the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback had been released from federal custody after completing his 23-month sentence for his dog-fighting conviction.

Now that Vick has formally paid his debt to society and traded in his home-confinement electronic monitor, he is expected to step up his efforts to resume his pro football career but it will not be in Atlanta.

With Associated Press 2008 NFC Offensive Rookie-of-the-Year Matt Ryan taking snaps for the Falcons, the team released Vick in June, making the former Pro-Bowler available to speak to other teams once he is cleared to play.

Vick is expected to request a meeting soon with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell who earlier had promised to review Vick’s status after Vick completed his sentence.

A statement from the NFL did not include any timeline on when that meeting would take place. “The review of his status is ongoing, but we are providing no other details at this time,” said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello.

Back in April Goodell commented on Vick. “Michael did an egregious thing,” said Goodell. “He has paid a very significant price for that.”

To the displeasure of some of our fans and readers, Sports Climax took the stand that Vick should be compensated by the wine company who used his name as a marketing ploy to sell their product.

It’s hard not to agree with Goddell when he says the man has paid a huge price. It’s time to welcome Vick back into society and into the NFL in time for this upcoming season.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

DETROIT – When Matthew Stafford smiles at the camera and explains how he will “do whatever it takes to win in Detroit” I see a naïve young man who is oblivious to the fact he has just been thrown into the Lions’ den.

Stafford’s agent Tom Condon has represented his client well in landing the largest rookie contract in the history of the NFL but is money everything? Isn’t the idea supposed to be to play a game you love and have fun while you make the big bucks? If so, Detroit is the wrong place for Stafford.

In and around Atlanta, many of the UGA fans I have spoken to are quick to say how Stafford’s erratic play has frustrated them over the years. They remember how many quarters he spent overthrowing open targets and how he buckled under pressure in many of the big games. How will that translate to the Detroit Lions and their fans?

Following the organization since the days they played during snow squalls in historic Tiger Stadium, I have to say not very well. Many teams in the NFL have rosters that would support a long-term development case like Stafford but Detroit is not one of them.

Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay is a great example. Rodgers worked the clipboard for years developing his talent while watching one of the all-time greats in Brett Favre before stepping into a starting position years later.

That’s how the transition from college to the NFL normally happens and there lies the problem with this marriage.

The Lions’ fans and the city of Detroit have totally lost their patience with this organization. To the point they have spent the past month saturating blogs around the country with threats of dropping support for the team if they draft Stafford. Groups of fans have gone to the extreme of showing up at press conferences filling the air with “Don’t draft Stafford” chants.

These actions truly are nothing personal toward Stafford but rebounding from the most disastrous run in NFL history under a guy named Millen should not include converting a #1 overall pick into a high-risk player like Stafford when there are guaranteed starters like Aaron Curry and Jason Smith available who are projected to step in game one and play in the league for 8-10 years.

While some may argue that Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco are examples of the contrary to long-term quarterback development, look at the Falcons and Ravens rosters compared to Detroit and realize that Stafford’s situation is not the same scenario, it’s nowhere close.

Ryan and Flacco both stood behind offensive lines with time to pass; Stafford goes to a team who allowed a ridiculous amount of sacks in the NFL over the past few seasons.

Stafford will not have a mentor like Favre, instead he will have an aging quarterback who is clinging to his final few years in the league and unhappy fans and media he will be pressured into trying to please.

Tom Brady looked near-flawless during the Patriots’ record-setting 16-0 season, standing tall and confident in the pocket hitting receivers but when pressure was applied during the Super Bowl game against the N.Y. Giants, even he looked lost and failed.

Yes, Stafford’s contract carries an earth-shattering $41.7 million guarantee and keeps the checks coming in for 6 years but athletes want to win and regardless what they say in front of the lights and cameras, their egos are huge and need to be fed.

Right now the kid may be celebrating what he and his agent have accomplished but when it comes down to playing in Honolulu Blue, reality is going to hit and the fun will be over. How can a kid live up to a $78 million contract in a blue-collar city where unemployment lines wrap around buildings and boarded up foreclosures line the streets?

Stepping in and delivering results immediately like Matt Ryan did in Atlanta when he threw a 60 yard bomb for a TD in his first NFL pass may help a bit. A 60-yard Hail Mary to Calvin Johnson streaking down the sideline may make the fans momentarily forget how stupid of a move the Lions made.

The only problem with that is, that play was against the Lions and there is no other defense in the NFL bad enough to allow that to happen.

That is the reason we heard the supportive “Aaron Curry” chants and degrading “Don’t draft Stafford” chants; the team needs defense and they need it now and they passed up an opportunity to get a guaranteed starter.

Playing quarterback or goalie positions in Detroit takes the thickest of skin and I have never seen a rookie with skin thick enough to withstand the repercussions that comes with that territory, especially if they are not wanted to begin with.

The Lions have seen several past first-round QBs including Andre Ware and Joey Harrington flop and suffer faultering careers after being placed on Lions teams that had better rosters than the current team has. It’s a long process and Stafford is not capable of becoming the overnight savior the fans and organization needs.

Money creates happiness for a certain amount of time but after the enormous homes, extravagant vacations and collections of cars becomes commonplace, it all comes down to how much fun a guy is having playing the game he has grown to love.

After the dust from Stafford’s party settles and he is two years into his journey in a Lions uniform, will the few extra million he received by going #1 as opposed to #3 or #4 be worth it? I think not.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

NASHVILLE – This week we are witnessing another self-implosion of an NFL player and this is not the first time Washington Redskins All-Pro defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth has ‘stepped’ into trouble.

Haynesworth who gained notoriety as a player for his infamous act of purposely stomping on Dallas Cowboy lineman Andre Gurode’s face with his cleats during a nationally televised game in 2006, was indicted on two misdemeanor traffic charges including reckless driving after being charged in an accident that seriously injured another driver in a December 13 accident.

While Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones, Matt Jones and Plaxico Burress are flirting with potential long suspensions by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, depending on how this latest fiasco turns out, Haynesworth may find himself in line to speak to the league as well.

According to sources, in this latest incident Haynesworth tried to pass the driver who then crashed into a concreted median causing serious injuries to the driver.

This is not an isolated incident since just last year, Haynesworth received another driving infraction when he was ticketed for driving 103 mph in a 70 mph area. He then served 30 day probation for that incident.

Haynesworth is scheduled to play in Washington this upcoming season after signing a seven-year, $100 million contract as a free agent.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

INDIANAPOLIS – After tallying up more than 8 miles of receiving yards wearing a Colts’ uniform, Marvin Harrison will not be returning to the team he has called home since 1996.Indianapolis Colts’ owner Jim Irsay found himself in a tough spot while the organization attempted to work something out with the aging receiver.

After several attempts to restructure the contract, the two sides remained far apart so Harrison asked to be released and the Colts are honoring that request.

Harrison has been a staple in the Colts’ organization over the past 13 seasons with his best year coming in 2002 when he snagged 143 receptions for 1,722 yards. The 36-year-old wideout has seen his production decline over the past few seasons with 60 receptions last season and 20 in an injury-shortened 2007.

On ESPN, John Clayton reported that receivers in the No. 1spot earn in the vicinity of $9 million per year and Harrison was being relegated to the No. 3 spot that normally calls for $2.5 to $3 million.

Harrison played college ball at Syracuse and was the Colts’ first round draft pick in ’96. His career stats bellow Hall of Fame and include 1,102 catches for 8.28 miles (14,580 yd) and 128 touchdowns.

Peyton Manning who has passed for 259 miles (45,628 yards) as a Colt left a statement on his website saying “I know I would not be the quarterback I am today if it wasn’t for Marvin”.

Harrison must now find a home after a stressful off-season that included being investigated for a shooting that occurred outside a business he owns in Philadelphia. Charges were never filed in that case.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

ATLANTA – There’s a buzz around Georgia that Bulldog Matthew Stafford may not accept the offer to work out during this month’s NFL Combine.If Stafford refuses to participate, he and his agent should be sent a strong message. Teams high on the draft list like the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs should pass and let the underclassman sit and squirm in his seat as a list of names are called before his.

If you think that cannot happen, Google Brady Quinn and Matt Leinhart. Both award-winning college quarterbacks were projected by many to be No. 1 picks.

Leinhart, a USC standout, sat for hours finally being taken 10th by the Arizona Cardinals and Quinn of Notre Dame was forced to sit and squirm in his seat and listen to 21 names echo in the hall before his was finally called by the Cleveland Browns.

To make matters worse, Quinn was forced to sit out and miss the first several days of camp as his agent tried frantically to get a deal signed, a deal signed so late, it eliminated the quarterback’s chance of taking the snaps on opening day.

Getting back to the Stafford issue. There is a certain amount of pressure in performing in front of an audience like the Combine but organizations deserve an opportunity to see how these young athletes respond under a little pressure, especially when those unproven players have agents who plan on asking for tens of millions of guaranteed dollars.

Bottom line is, if a player, especially an underclassman quarterback, cannot perform up to par at a Combine, should he and his agent walk with a semi-trailer full of millions?

If Stafford does not show as expected, this may prove to be risky advice by his agent. It’s almost like they are hiding something from the NFL scouts.

The Lions or Chiefs are foolish to choose Stafford unless he puts on the spikes and airs out some balls this month.

If the ‘Dawg from Georgia doesn’t show, there may be some extra-motivated lineman that will salivating for the draft.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

SUDAN- Let’s make a list of challenges a 7 ft. 7 in. lanky man the size of a twig should avoid:

1. Climbing in a boxing ring to go toe-to-toe with a 375 pound ex-NFL lineman named “Refrigerator”.

2. Lace up a pair of skates and take a shot at professional ice hockey.

3. Become a licensed horse jockey.

Manute Bol, a Dinka Tribesman and former center in the NBA who weighed a measly 190 when breaking into the league did all that. His skeletal-like legs were so long, he stood like a giraffe, his legs buckled, looking ready to collapse.

Utilizing his towering height and 102″ reach, the second-round pick of the Washington Bullets set records for blocks during his 11 year, four team NBA career.

After his basketball career, Bol became a side-show circus act, whoring himself out. He would sign on the dotted line for most any paid gig but his intentions were heart-warming.

Bol was on a mission to bring attention to, and raise money for, his fellow citizens of Sudan who were in the middle of a severe conflict in his war-torn country.

In 2002, the lanky Bol fought Chicago Bear lineman Refrigerator Perry in a Springer-style, celebrity boxing match. It was as pitiful as it was humorous to watch.  Against all speculation, Bol was actually the aggressor and utilized his 102″ reach to win the fight.

Afterwards, he donated the $35,000 paycheck he received for the bout to his freedom-fighters in Sudan.

Some time later after being fitted with custom-made size 20 skates, Bol signed a standard CHL contract and played in a game with the Indianapolis Ice in a professional hockey game.

A season-best crowd of 5,900 fans filled Concesco Fieldhouse to see the circus act. Bol lasted just one period, was falling flat on his face and again donated his paycheck to his worthy cause in Sudan.

Freak show . . . circus act . . . call it what you want. Bottom line is,  Bol was willing to make a spectical of himself for the sake of the children in his homeland of Sudan.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

Biting incidents in sports are nothing new, but with mega-billions of bytes passing through high-speed Internet connections worldwide on a daily basis, the most recent perpetrators are gaining notoriety overnight.If fans want to be entertained by biting, they can tune in to Discovery’s Shark Week or pick up an Anne Rice vampire novel; it doesn’t belong in sports.

Sport’s most recent chomper is a high-school kid by the name of Cody Fields from Springfield, Ohio. Fields took a morsel out of a recent opponent during a wrestling match, here’s the photo.

It’s possible Fields is an NHL hockey fan and stole the move from Ottawa Senator Jarrko Ruutu’s playbook. Ruutu just last week clamped down on an opponent’s thumb during a hockey skirmish and the ruthless act cost him a two-game suspension, $31,707.32 in salary and a place in the NHL biters Hall of Fame joining Derian Hatcher and Jordin Tootoo.

Back to that wrestling kid Fields from Springfield.

Lucky for his opponent he isn’t an Australian Football fan following in the footsteps of players like Australian footballer Peter Filandia who was suspended for 10 games after admitting to biting the scrotum of another player during a match.

Filandia’s excuse was he was being smothered under a pile and biting his opponent’s sac was a reflex move.

To date the most famous biter has to be Mike Tyson who chewed a visible chunk of flesh out of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a fight in 1997. After spitting it out in front of a shocked crowd, the fight was stopped and Tyson was disqualified.

Decades earlier, to Tyson’s brutal act, Sports Illustrated named NFL tough guy Conrad Dobler the “Pro Football’s Dirtiest Player” in 1977 after Dobler admitted biting Minnesota Viking Doug Sutherland during a game.

Dobler offered no excuse because, well, he was the dirtiest player in the league.

Regardless what the excuses or reasons are, it’s time to clamp down on these embarrassing infractions. Simple rule is, unless you’re McGruff the Crime Dog, you shouldn’t be taking a bite out of anything.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

DETROIT – Almost with a cult-like feel where everyone is watching each other’s back, the NFL is becoming a place where one can fail miserably, get canned short of contract obligations and be rewarded with huge guaranteed buyouts followed by job offers from other teams around the league; technically resulting in ‘pay raises’ when you combine both salaries together.Believe it or not, members of the Detroit Lions’ ‘coaching staff’ have been rewarded with new NFL jobs after their record-setting 0-16 implosion in Motown this season.

The biggest failure, incompetent defensive coordinator Joe Barry, son-in-law of fired head coach Rod Marinelli and beneficiary of the Lions’ nepotism program, has found a new home in Seattle as the linebackers coach.

Barry’s ‘Dad’ has been handed a headset by Detroit’s rival Chicago Bears where he will be assistant head coach/defensive line coach. Amazing how far friendship can go.

Bears’ head coach Lovie Smith and Rod go way back to their days of sharing hotel rooms while on road trips with the Tampa Bay Bucs. As bad as Marinelli has been out of touch with football over the past three years, Smith still extended his hand. Examiner Paula Duffy talks about Marinelli going ‘Back to the Future’.

Offering jobs and paychecks to guys like Barry and Marinelli after their orchestration of the disaster in Detroit, is like bringing Enron’s Kenneth Lay back from the dead and putting him on the payroll to run the World Bank.

While Matt Millen’s stench remains with the Lions and people are still celebrating the end to the Matt Millen Era, the incompetent exec was handed a warm, comfortable spot in the NBC booth where he will share his ‘knowledge’ (?) with fans across the nation during this year’s Super Bowl.

The vicious media onslaught and negative response Millen has received from many of the fans and media since that hiring is the same cold welcome these two coaches deserve; but in a country where people have grown more short-sighted than a napping amnesiac, expect business to go on as usual.

Too bad Sports Climax isn’t run like the NFL. I could create 16 articles containing a roster full of typos that generates 0 hits (like a Joe Barry defense). After creating the 0-16 run with no traffic I could toss in a few articles that make no logical sense like, “Millen has knowledge to share with NFL fans” only to be promoted to Webmaster with a pay raise.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

NEW YORK – Now that the Green Bay Packers and their Cheesehead fans have settled into the fact Aaron Rodgers is their starting quarterback, it’s the Jets’ turn to climb aboard the gut-wrenching amusement ride known as the ‘Favre roller coaster’.Brett Favre, like he did over the past few season in GB said he is ‘going to wait’ to announce his plans for next season. Yes as expected the aging quarterback is beginning his annual guessing game with the Jets, but after faltering and struggling through the last five games with 9 interceptions and only 2 TDs, don’t expect this fiasco to go the distance in a place like the Big Apple.

New York is the media capital of the world and along with that title comes aggressive reporting and a lot more pressure. People are known to be a little more polite and less aggressive in a smaller town like Madison, maybe that’s the reason Favre has not met with the N.Y. media and spoke to an ESPN reporter instead. Does the term, ‘chew him up and spit him out’ come to mind here?

The 39-year-old Favre is a warrior, we all know that. There’s a reason he set the record for most consecutive starts in the NFL in a position where guys wear a bulls-eye on the front of their jerseys. Favre has survived many Sunday afternoons as a human piñata, spent the week in ice packs and managed to climb back into the ring just days later.

Jets’ teammates like Thomas Jones and Kerry Rhodes recently used an interview with that New York media I was speaking of to voice his concerns over the All-Pro quarterback not offering to take a seat on the bench during that five-game skid.

When asked about the recent comments, Favre responded, “It’s upsetting that a couple of guys have said some negative things, but what can you do?”

What do you do? Normally ignore the comments and move forward but in this case, Jones may be concerned about another badly-timed Favre circus that could interfere with the Jets prepping for the 2009 season.

Favre has a weak argument for asking the Jets for too much time this time around.

Last season in Green Bay he was coming off a 13-3 season, this year he led the league with 22 interceptions and the Jets’ lost 4 of the last 5 games, blowing a chance at the AFC East title and a sure playoff spot.

To make matters worse he lost the final game in front of the hometown fans against ex-Jet QB Chad Pennington who also was voted this year’s AP Comeback Player of the Year.

Favre commented on his weak performance down the stretch, “Do I have to redeem myself for the last five games? No. There is nothing left out there for me from that standpoint. I’m disappointed with the last five games, sure, but I know I did everything I could have.”

If that is ‘everything you could have done’ then the writing is on the wall because that was not enough, it’s officially time to retire.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

MIAMI – Four NFL teams took a gamble hiring rookie head coaches before the season started and the moves paid off for three  of those teams who find themselves with 11-5 records and gearing up to take the field this weekend in the playoffs.Miami Dolphins rookie head coach Tony Sparano orchestrated one of the most impressive turnarounds in NFL history. Taking over a 1-15 team, Sparano, who worked under Bill Parcells in Dallas, succeeded under pressure when he and his ‘fins went into the Meadowlands as underdogs the last game of the season and upset Brett Favre and the Jets to steal the AFC East division title and finish with an 11-5 record.

Atlanta Falcons rookie head coach Mike Smith and Baltimore Ravens John Harbaugh also took over struggling franchises and finished with the same 11-5 record.

Against the opinion of much of the media, both coaches made gutsy decisions, opting to start their first-round quarterback picks Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco Week One of the season.

Ryan, who won the AP Rookie-of-the-Year and Flacco capitalized on the opportunity and went on a record-setting journey, starting all 16 games and leading their teams to wild-card berths.

After completing several interviews during the offseason, Ravens’ owner Steve Biscotti said his decision to hire Harbaugh was just a simple “gut feeling” after Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett turned down an offer for the job. As fate would have it, Garrett has hung up his headset for the season and Harbaugh is playoff bound and sure to receive some Coach-of-the-Year votes.

It’s hard not to cheer for these guys since they stepped into such challenging roles on struggling teams in the rebuilding phase.

Interesting fact is, with the Ravens facing the Dolphins one of these men are guaranteed to make it to the next round of the playoffs.

Cast your vote for Sports Climax NFL Coach-of-the-Year on our homepage.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax